The aim of the project is to improve understanding of the trophic transfer of contaminants (metals, Hg, MeHg, PCBs, pesticides, PAHs, alkanes) between water, plankton and planktivores using transdisciplinary (biology, ecology, chemistry, modelling) and multi-tool approaches.
The project members discussed the preliminary results of the CONTAMPUMP analyses (WP1 - 18-month temporal monitoring in the Bay of Marseille starting in June 2020), the HIPPOCAMPE campaign (WP2 - spatial monitoring from the north to the south of the Mediterranean) and the implementation of the updated Ecopath model for the Gulf of Lion for trophic modelling of contaminant transfers (EwE ECOTRACER).
Monthly sampling by CONTAMPUMP will continue until November 2021 at the SOLEMIO-SOMLIT station in the Bay of Marseille aboard ANTEDON II. Samples will also be taken by pumping for different phytoplankton size classes, with Hydrobios nets for zooplankton size classes and by diving (sediment, mussels, mysids) for taxonomic and contaminant analyses.
The results of the project should provide a better understanding of the mechanisms of trophic transfer of contaminants in a coastal environment subject to various anthropogenic activities. They will thus provide managers with knowledge to help improve the monitoring and management of marine coastal systems.